Best home set-up

This is a discussion on Best home set-up within the Home (And Away From Home) Defense Discussion forums, part of the Related Topics category; My wife and I are talking about building our own house out in the country in the next few years. We want a nice plot ...

Best home set-up

My wife and I are talking about building our own house out in the country in the next few years. We want a nice plot of land where I can shoot, possibly hunt and grow a nice sized garden. Home security still bothers me living out that far in the country. I've heard more horror stories living in the country then living in town.

My thoughts are having windows high enough where burglars can't get into them. I'll set window alarms in the basement and all the windows. What kinds of doors are good to prevent break in's? I've heard some people have installed solid oak doors with a steel core and a steel frame with dead locks. I don't want it to look like a prison, but I want a break in proof door. We'll get a good guard dog, I obviously have plenty of guns, I'm thinking of flood lights for the outside and a good security system. What other security measures do you suggest when building a house?

Good idea on the flood lights. I'd also include "garden lighting" around the flower beds and under the windows to make sure there are no dark shadows to hide in anywhere near a possible entry point. Might want to consider lighting the entire length of the driveway, or at least both ends. I have closed circuit cameras here, one on the front door, one looking out the front window, and one in the back. (not as much need in back due to the layout and orientation of my place)

Reinforce the doorjambs with sheet steel or angle iron. I think they make a product to do this but it may or may not be cheaper to fabricate your own depending on your skill level and tools. Make sure you use a nice solid door and a good lockset with a deadbolt. Right now I've got really cruddy windows, but I'll be replacing those soon with something a little more sturdy and I may add cast iron grilles to the windows mounted to the bricks outside. Make sure you fence in your property and post no trespassing signs. Posting your property (no trespassing, guard dog) according to whatever regulation exists is important also, to help prevent any liability (if possible in your jurisdiction).

Video cameras. Good video cameras. The ones that actually record detail beyond skin color and gender. And record to off-site or at least a protected (hidden) DVR. Make sure that you can monitor the video with an internet connection when you're away from home.

Also, automate your home so you can turn lights on or off on a program or remotely.

Out in the country? I love it! Get a good dog. Preferably one that's silent for the most part....let your home security do the rest for penetration (ADT cell). German Shepherd, Rottweiler, or Akita. Flood lights will only scare them away IMO.......(that won't necessarily keep them from coming back) I'd rather catch them in the act, and either turn loose the hounds or turn loose the 12ga. In the country, noone can hear you scream...but they can always hear gun shots. Out in the country....gun shots are common. Plant your front yard however you see fit. May also suggest doing your door jambs in steel so they won't break. Another member had a good link to this type of thing a while back. I can't find it now. The country is where you want to be. Don't let it be a burden. Be ready.

Originally Posted by Rivers

Video cameras. Good video cameras. The ones that actually record detail beyond skin color and gender. And record to off-site or at least a protected (hidden) DVR. Make sure that you can monitor the video with an internet connection when you're away from home.

Also, automate your home so you can turn lights on or off on a program or remotely.

Video cameras are just about as good as dialing 911. You're going to stay up 24/7 and watch your cameras?

May also suggest doing your door jambs in steel so they won't break. Another member had a good link to this type of thing a while back. I can't find it now. The country is where you want to be. Don't let it be a burden. Be ready.

Just a couple of things I have considered while thinking about doing something similar. Without necessarily making it look obvious, I'd want open fields of fire for 100m around my house, no major treees, or obstacles in the way. If there was any fencing out there it would be split rail or similar, because it is harder to hide behind, also if the house was slightly elevated that could help.

Good eyes on the main avenue of approack, aka driveway, and have a long driveway, possibly with some sort of detection device at the end of it that could alert me when people were coming down it.

I've lived in the country (83 acres, 1/2 mile to neighbor's house) for about 10 years now...and the most efficient alarm system I have found is a trio of well trained Rottweilers. We have just over 10 acres fenced (though open on the river side), gated drive with intercom and motion sensors covering the cleared area inside the fence...but the dogs are what I trust.

Gun Control: The theory that a woman found dead in an alley, raped and strangled with her panty hose, is somehow morally superior to a woman explaining to police how her attacker got that fatal bullet wound.

Out in the country? I love it! Get a good dog. Preferably one that's silent for the most part....let your home security do the rest for penetration (ADT cell). German Shepherd, Rottweiler, or Akita. Flood lights will only scare them away IMO.......(that won't necessarily keep them from coming back) I'd rather catch them in the act, and either turn loose the hounds or turn loose the 12ga. In the country, noone can hear you scream...but they can always hear gun shots. Out in the country....gun shots are common. Plant your front yard however you see fit. May also suggest doing your door jambs in steel so they won't break. Another member had a good link to this type of thing a while back. I can't find it now. The country is where you want to be. Don't let it be a burden. Be ready.

Video cameras are just about as good as dialing 911. You're going to stay up 24/7 and watch your cameras?

First, he said that he would be building in the next couple of YEARS. If he can get cell coverage, he can do what I suggested today. In a couple years, technology will likely either have built out to his neck of the woods, or wireless and satelite internet will be feasible. Having an effective video security system starts with the BG thinking that his actions are going to be recorded. You make your own home more secure when it is a less attractive target than those around it. Having good quality video is also valuable because most break-ins happen after the property has been cased. It's very possible that you can see suspicious activity either when it happens, or going back after the fact. Many systems offer motion-activated recording so you don't waste either storage media or your time in going back over the videos. The better the lighting on your property, the better quality your surveillance video will be. IR video cameras typically leave a lot to be desired. Talk to LE agencies for suggestions of what actually works too. And I certainly endorse the dogs, having had hounds for pretty much my whole life. Some breeds are better than others though. (It's very rude for burglars to wake up the dog. Mine seem to either be ultra vigilant or trip hazards, relative to when they last ate.)

Radio shack alarm

This is something cheap but helpful:

At the Radio Shack they sell an alarm system, very simple, a central unit sensor for windows, door motion sensors, a wireless switch which turns on a light , plus the unit emits beeps every time a door or window is opened.
If you're away from home, it'll dial you're cell and let you hear thru a mic what is happening inside your home!
I know is crude compared to mos alarm systems, still after several years i still use it, tells me when my daughter comes from school, when she opens the door etc.
The price is about $100.
something else I did was to connect a real loud chime, megaphone type I purchased at the shack, so if its triggered when we're out it'll sound a loud noise loud enough to scare anyone.

Retractable steel shutters, lexan windows, steel frame, concrete and rebar structure.
Two Anatolian Shepherds outside. Exterior flood lights.
Entry and motion detectors. Siren, land line, and cell alarms.
Two American Bulldogs inside. A Glock 20 on your hip, an AR 10 and a Mossberg 1100 against the wall, with appropriate back up weapons and 10000 rounds of ammunition.
180 days food and water, and a medical trauma kit.
Power generator and a loaded escape vehicle.

I would look closely at the architecture of your proposed home, and studiously avoid creating areas outside your home which provide concealment to anyone outside. It might seem extreme, but at least look at the design of Jeff Cooper's home at his Paulden, AZ ranch. Definitely consider a 2-story design to allow some additional safety by putting sleeping quarters above any ground-level points of entry.

Beyond that, take advantage of new construction to install alarm wiring, and your alarm system should use wireless phone connectivity if at all possible.

If you're worried about the windows(height mentioned in OP), there's a surefire fix. I forget what the plant is called(will have to try to look it up), but my father has these EVIL plants planted below his windows. They grow extremely bushy and have 2-2.5" long RAZOR sharp thorns on them. The thorns are also poisonous. You burn at first and then itch for like a week. Quite the detractor for any fool that decides to try to get through them to get in via the windows.

Oh yeah...and get a good dog like a shep, rottie, pit, etc... preferably two so they have someone to play with and back each other up when you're not around.

Don't forget about a safe room/storm shelter. Use a room close to the sleeping areas, alot of times the bathroom gets used which has it's advantages mainly a toilet and running water if you're going to be in there awhile. Don't over look minor hardening of sleeping quarters, a sheet of 1/2" osb under the drywall on both sides of a bedroom wall and a good solid core door will stop anybody without tools, help slow down errant projectiles, and keep the kids from banging holes in the drywall.

Depending on your layout you can put in interior motion lighting in choke points such as stairwells, just remember it works both ways if you are going to investigate.

We the willing, being guided by the unknowing, Doing impossible feats, for the ungrateful, Have been doing so much with so little for so long,
We now feel qualified to do, absolutely anything, with literally nothing

If you're worried about the windows(height mentioned in OP), there's a surefire fix. I forget what the plant is called(will have to try to look it up), but my father has these EVIL plants planted below his windows. They grow extremely bushy and have 2-2.5" long RAZOR sharp thorns on them. The thorns are also poisonous. You burn at first and then itch for like a week. Quite the detractor for any fool that decides to try to get through them to get in via the windows.

Oh yeah...and get a good dog like a shep, rottie, pit, etc... preferably two so they have someone to play with and back each other up when you're not around.

Thats a good idea. Thorn bushes under the windows. As far as dogs go, Great Pyrenees. I deliver out in the country and 9 times out of 10 I can get past a pit rottie or shepard. The owners are amazed that I got past their dog. The one dog I have never gotten past is a great pyrenees...they just stare at you with that dont even try it look. Chows come a close second.